While the average shopper would be forgiven for believing that all USB C Cable brands were made equally, in reality – this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The humble USB (Universal Serial Bus) was originally developed and introduced in 1996, with the aim being to set up a communication method between a computer and peripheral devices by replacing many varieties of serial and parallel ports.
In the olden days, plugging something into your computer – a mouse, a printer, or a hard drive – required a zoo of cables. After the USB was invented, it wasn’t long before floppy disks and CD-R drives soon began to die out, but the power of the technology didn’t stop there.
As the OG of the USB world, USB-A cables are essential for almost every type of computer based ‘add on’, such as keyboards, mice, wireless adapters, and external hard drives. Seen as an upgrade to the standard USB Type A cable, the USB-C cable was soon developed to connect and power many types of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices thanks to the ability to transfer audio, video, and text data.
Despite the fact that a USB C cable has the power to charge and transfer data between a wide range of devices, there are still three key points of difference that shoppers need to note before making a selection: data transfer speed, power and cable length.
Where a USB C cable purchase gets tricky is in the numbers that get attached to the ports. The most common speed that USB C connectors are rated for is 10Gbps, or theoretically, twice as fast as the original USB 3.0. USB C ports that support this peak speed are called “USB 3.2 Gen 1×2”.
The reason paying attention to this matters is because a USB C cable with 3.1 Gen 2 capabilities will take just five seconds to transfer a HD movie at 10 Gbps, whereas an older 2.0 version will take 1.7 minutes at a much lower rate of 480 MBps.
In addition to speed, different USB C cable types will also have different power levels. While all USB C cables must be able to carry a minimum of 20V 3A, some products also offer a higher electrical load at 20V 5a – meaning that devices will charge faster.
The biggest difference between 3A and 5A cables is 5A cables can generally power laptops and monitors, while 3A cables cannot. If you’re looking for options to transfer photos and music between devices or charge smaller devices like a smartphone, then a 3A cable should be sufficient.
Finally, be sure to consider how long you need your USB C cable to be. As a general rule, the faster the speed of a USB C cable, the shorter it should be due to the electrical characteristics inherent to high speed data transfer. As such, cables are usually available in lengths of one metre, two metres or four metres.
If you can manage to tick off all of these boxes before you make a purchase, the good news is that if you invest in a few high quality USB C cables, they will generally work with anything and everything that supports them, regardless of the device’s year, model or generation.
To avoid making the emergency dash to your nearest service station in the middle of the night when a sub-par USB C cable dies, be sure to do your research on the many products out there. As an example, our SOS USB data cable is purposefully designed for heavy duty charging and data transportation, and the 1.2 metres braided cables with a long rubber sleeve to help stop the plugs from bending too much. To find out more, be sure to check out your nearest SOS Phone Repairs store.
SOS Phone Repairs are specialists in high-quality, cost-effective phone repairs, tablet repairs, and PC repairs, all backed with a six month warranty. Founded in 2015 in Coffs Harbour and now with over sixteen outlets located all over Australia, our primary driving factors remain the same: people and phones.
Whether it’s to get a few more years out of your trusted iPhone, to fix one up to sell, assistance with a repair, or even finding the right accessories such as a USB C Cable, SOS Phone Repairs have a wide variety of products and services on offer in each of our outlets.
If you are on the hunt for a quote, diagnostic, or even just some good old fashioned, friendly advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or give us a call today at SOS Phone Repairs.
